Tom Harper and Pat Magowan joined me for two weeks of building flamenco guitars. It was a fantastic learning experience for all three of us as we shared information and building styles with each other. Tom built a flamenco instrument in the tradition of Santos Hernandes, Pat built an exotic myrtle instrument in the tradition of Herman Hauser I and I built two, one Hauser and one Barbero. Pat is an expert in sharpening chisels and plane blades and using them so through the entire experience we were learning how to have extremely sharp tools to facilitate us in our work. The attached photos show the exquisite flamed myrtle along with two interior photos of my Hauser.

I just completed three new ukuleles for the month-long show at the Isaacs Center. All three tenor ukuleles are made from exceptional Koa that I purchased from Marcus Castaing. One has a redwood top and the other two are all Koa. One has an inlay of the Hokulea on the headstock and one has abalone around the face of the instrument as well as around the headstock. Check them out if you are in Waimea. The show runs through February 22nd.

Playing at my mother-in-law, Helen Lindgren’s, 90th birthday last week was a blast. My son, Tristan, played a jumbo acoustic guitar I had made and I played a koa ukulele I built for my grandson, Brady. It’s rewarding making instruments but even more so playing them, especially with your son who is an extremely talented musician.

I am very excited to launch my third version of WhiteGuitars.com website. In the new site we are adding a much larger photo gallery spanning my 22 years of instrument construction, a current “Instruments For Sale” page, and a blog where I can share current events and receive feedback. We are also moving the site to a new “Wordpress” environment and adding some new navigation and sorting features. This site has been developed by Tom Russell, my friend and colleague in ukulele building and wood-turning. Thank you so much, Tom.